Faced with a looming parking shortage in downtown, the Mountain View City Council is slated Tuesday to consider the use of new technology including controversial license plate readers to better manage public garages.

The readers, which have elicited privacy concerns, would record the license plates of vehicles as they enter and exit garages, according to a report by Tiffany Chew, the city’s business development specialist, and Alex Andrade, the city’s economic development manager.

The information would then be used to precisely track the location of a vehicle and how long it has been parked, essentially replacing the traditional parking enforcement practice of chalking tires.

“The recorded information identifies the vehicle and when the officer passes the vehicle a second time after the restriction has expired, they are alerted that the vehicle is violating a parking restriction,” Chew and Andrade wrote.

In regard to privacy concerns, the report notes that data collected for parking enforcement purposes can be deleted on a regular basis so that it is only kept for a defined time period. Less intrusive digital image sensors that record the location, length and color of vehicles could be used instead, too.

So-called “vehicle detection technology” is just one possibility to help the city better manage its garages. Others include digital signs that provide real-time information about the number and location of spaces as well as directions to garages that aren’t filled to capacity.

“The city would benefit from parking technology that would inform drivers when a parking facility is full and redirecting them to another location with available parking spaces,” Chew and Andrade wrote.

A website that provides the same real-time information and allows people to purchase permits would also help maximize garage usage and ultimately cut down on congestion in downtown, according to the report.

The cost of signs that provide real-time information varies. According to the report, a single occupancy sign at the entrance of a garage runs about $75,000; multiple signs that provide the number of open spaces per level and are integrated with vehicle detection technology can top $200,000.

Similarly, vehicle detection technology ranges from $60,000 for a system of digital image sensors to $100,000 for license plate readers, according to the report. A website would cost $20,000 to $35,000.

On Tuesday, the council is slated to consider requests by city staff to create a website that can issue permits, seek proposals for real-time information systems for two public garages, and develop a plan for utilizing vehicle detection technology.

The move to more efficiently manage public garages comes amid a boom in commercial activity. A study conducted in 2011 concluded that the city would run out of downtown parking spaces in five to 15 years.

“Since 2011, the state of the economy has created the need for more immediate solutions to help make the existing downtown public parking system more efficient,” the report said.

Jason Green is a breaking news reporter for the Bay Area News Group. He works week nights and spends most of his time covering crime and public safety. A graduate of UC Santa Barbara and the University of Southern California, he cut his teeth at the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and the Palo Alto Daily News, and has been with the Bay Area News Group since its inception.